Hospital Admission and Emergency Department Visit After Bariatric Surgery, a 2- Year Follow Up

Abstract: Introduction Previous study investigating Emergency Department (ED) visits rate and admission rates in bariatric patients’ post-surgery shows a 2-year admission rate of 26%. Aim The primary aim of this study was to assess the number of ED visits and admissions as well as examine if there is a correlation with comorbidities, education level, quality of life, and image method used. The secondary aim was to compare the ED and admission rate between the cohort and the general population. Methods This retrospective study included a total of 190 patients. They were followed for 2 years. All the patients were operated on during 2017 in Region Örebro. The cohort and data were obtained from the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry and data concerning ED visit and admittance rate was collected by reviewing medical records. Results The ED visit rate was 116 (61%) and the admittance rate was 76 (40%). Poor mental health, low education level and smoking were correlated to a higher degree of admittance and ED visit rate. There were more imagining used in the group that visited the ED or got admitted. The most common diagnoses were symptoms related to the digestive system and abdomen. The study population had a higher degree of admittance and ED visit rate than the general population. Conclusions Rate of admittance seem to be correlated to factors related to socioeconomic status. More research is needed to investigate what intervention would help this subgroup most, so they don’t have to seek medical care to the same degree.